The dormitory was quiet at this hour. Most of the girls had gone to sleep hours ago, their rooms dark, their breathing soft behind closed doors. But Inner Moka was not tired. She sat on the edge of the bed, her silver hair spilling over her shoulders, the Rosario Cross resting in her open palm. She had not clamped it back onto her choker.
The metal was warm beneath her fingers, pulsing faintly with the crimson light that lived inside the gem. Through the bond, she could feel Outer Moka's presence, a gentle warmth at the edge of her consciousness. The other half of her soul, the part that had walked the world while she remained sealed.
"You are still awake." Inner spoke to the empty room, but her words were not for herself.
A moment of silence passed before Outer's voice came through the bond, soft and hesitant, like someone testing the depth of water before stepping in.
["I could not sleep. I was thinking about tonight. About the kiss. About him."]
Inner's jaw tightened. She had expected this. The weakling was not one to bury her feelings; she was too gentle for that, too honest. It was one of the things that made her infuriating and, Inner admitted only to herself, admirable.
["I felt it,"] Outer continued, her mental voice trembling just slightly. ["Your happiness, through the bond. It was like sunlight after years of rain. I was jealous at first, I will not lie. But then I could not stay angry, not when I felt how much it meant to you."]
Inner was silent for a long moment. The moonlight caught the edges of her silver hair, turning it into a cascade of liquid light. Her thumb traced the edge of the Rosario, slow and deliberate.
"You are too kind for your own good," she said finally, her voice quiet. "Most people would have screamed. They would have hated me. They would have ripped this cross from my neck and thrown me back into the darkness."
["You are not a monster, Inner. You never were."]
"A debatable statement." There was no heat in her words, only a weary acknowledgment. She had spent years believing otherwise.
["I have met you many times in my dreams. I know that you have protected me back in the human world when those guys were about to… You kept me alive and warned me about the Monster Hunters in proximity."]
Outer's voice grew stronger, more certain. ["You are not a monster, so stop comparing yourself to one. You are my sister. My other self."]
Inner's hand tightened around the Rosario, the metal biting into her palm, but she did not flinch.
"The seal was not fair to either of us." Her voice was flat, but there was something beneath it, something that sounded like old pain. "Mother created it to suppress my powers. When my Shinso Abilities awakened, they were too strong for me back then. It felt as if they were trying to devour me. She feared I would hurt myself, or worse, hurt those dear to me."
["I know."] Outer's voice cracked. ["I awakened my consciousness when the Rosario sealed you. I did not ask for it. I was a child, scared of you at first. The stories they told me about our kind, about Shinso Vampires, about our world… I thought you were a demon inside me."]
"And now?"
["Now I know you are the one who kept me alive."]
Inner closed her eyes. The weight of six years pressed against her shoulders, but for the first time, it did not feel crushing. It felt like something she could finally set down.
"What do you want, Outer? Ask me directly. I am tired of dancing around the subject."
A long pause followed. Then Outer spoke again, her voice quiet but firm. ['I want to share. Not just the body, but him. I love Tsukune too. I have loved him since the first day, when he looked at me like I was not a monster, when he let me drink his blood, when he stayed when anyone else would have run.']
Inner opened her eyes and stared at the moon through the window, at the pale light that painted the world in shades of silver and shadow.
"You want to share him," she said slowly, as if tasting the words. "The same way we share this body."
["Yes."]
A short laugh escaped Inner, quiet and humorless. "You realize he is an idiot who might hurt you, and you will just get heartbroken? Can you handle it? Him being around other women that he takes a fancy to?"
"While it is acceptable in our supernatural world that the stronger males have their harems to continue their bloodlines, that does not mean we Vampires have to follow it. He is nothing but a reckless, sarcastic, perpetually exhausted idiot who attracts danger like a magnet and has no idea how to manage his own heart."
["I know."] There was warmth in Outer's voice now, something almost like a smile. ["That is part of why I love him."]
Inner snorted softly. "Don't say I have not warned you. But I guess, you're also a hopeless idiot to have fallen for that silver-tongued guy."
["So are you. You kissed him."]
"I did, and I would do it again."
The words hung in the air, bold and unapologetic. Inner Moka was not the kind of woman who pretended. She took what she wanted, and she had wanted Tsukune. She still wanted him.
["Then we need to figure out how this works,"] Outer said. ["The body, the time, him. We cannot both be awake at the same time. One of us has to be in control."]
Inner nodded slowly. She had been thinking about this since the garden, since the kiss, since the moment she realized she could no longer pretend her heart was made of stone.
"We need a schedule." Her voice was businesslike now, practical. "I will not be locked away again, but I will not steal your life from you either. You have friends here. A life. You deserve to live it."
["And you deserve to live too."]
"Then we agree."
They spent the next hour negotiating. It was not romantic or tender; it was the kind of conversation two people had when they shared a body and a heart and needed to make things work.
The schedule they settled on was written down in a notebook by Inner, who circled various points that were left open for debate.
Weekday mornings would be alternated. Inner would take Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, while Outer would take Tuesdays and Thursdays. This gave Inner a chance to attend classes and experience the world she had only watched through Outer's eyes, while allowing Outer to maintain her social life.
Weekday afternoons would belong to Outer, since she was better at social interactions and club activities. Evenings and weekends would be Inner's domain, unless Outer had a specific date or event planned. For special occasions like birthdays or festivals, they would negotiate and take turns.
["What about him?"] Outer asked. ["Does he get a say in this?"]
Inner raised an eyebrow. "He will complain either way. That is his nature, but he will adapt."
["You make him sound like a stray dog you adopted."]
"He is. A large, stubborn, surprisingly loyal, adorable, stray dog."
["That is actually accurate."]
A ghost of a smile tugged at Inner's lips. It was small and fleeting, but it was real. She could count on one hand the number of times she had smiled in six years, and most of them had been in the past few weeks.
Tsukune's fault, she was sure about that.
Then Inner remembered something. Her expression shifted, becoming sharper, more playful in a way that only Outer would recognize.
"One more thing, weakling." Inner's voice carried a hint of dry amusement. "Do not be shy when getting him to do things for you. He owes me a lot for all the cleaning I have done for him. Pulling his reckless self out of trouble, fixing his messes, putting up with his nonsense. That debt extends to you now. Make him work for your affection. He can handle it."
['That seems fair,'] Outer said, a smile evident in her mental voice. ['But what about the Rosario? How do we manage it?']
Inner looked down at the cross in her hand, the crimson gem pulsing softly in the moonlight. This was the heart of their arrangement, the mechanism that had defined their lives for six years.
"The Rosario stays on the choker when you are in control," Inner explained. "When it is my time, you will have to ask Tsukune to take it off. There is no point in us trying to endanger ourselves by trying to force the Seal off myself."
"If I attempt to remove it myself, the backlash could hurt both of us. The Seal was designed to be opened by someone else, not by the one wearing it. It is a failsafe, a protection. Mother thought of everything."
["Alright, it makes sense to have Tsukune involved. But what if he is not around when you need to take over?"]
"Then I wait. Or you call him. He is not difficult to find. He is usually causing trouble somewhere, training by the river, either he is at the library trying to find out another Demonic Artifact or Death Scroll, or stuck in his dorm room doing his Sacred Gear experiments."
["That is so true."] Outer's mental voice carried a hint of fond exasperation.
["Remember when he found that Devil Summoning Scroll two week ago? The one he begged us to help him decipher? He was so excited, pacing around the club room, muttering about 'power scaling.' I thought Shizuka-sensei was going to confiscate it."]
Inner's lips curved into a genuine smile, small but unmistakable. "I remember. He spent three hours translating the first paragraph, then threw the scroll across the room when he realized it was just a recipe for a demonic energy drink. 'Energy potion,' he called it. He was so disappointed."
["And then he drank it anyway,"] Outer added, her mental voice bright with laughter. ["He said, and I quote, 'What is the worst that could happen?' Then he glowed green for an hour and could not stop burping. Kurumu was horrified. I thought she was going to drag him to the infirmary."]
"He is hopeless," Inner said, but there was no irritation in her voice. Only warmth. "Completely and utterly impossible. And yet, here we are. Planning our schedules around him like he is the center of the universe."
["He is not the center of the universe,"] Outer said softly. ["But he is the center of ours."]
Inner did not argue. She could not.
A pause followed, stretching between them like a held breath. The moonlight shifted across the floor, and the shadows in the corners of the room seemed to lean in, as if listening.
Then Outer's voice came again, quieter this time, almost hesitant.
["Inner… do you really love him?"]
The question hung in the air between them, fragile and heavy. It was not the kind of question that could be answered with a shrug or a dismissive wave. It demanded honesty, and Inner Moka had never been one to lie, not to herself and not to the only person who shared her soul.
Inner was silent for a long time. She looked at the Rosario in her hand, at the crimson gem that pulsed with her own trapped light. She thought of Tsukune, of his stupid grin, of the way he never backed down, of the way he looked at her like she was something worth fighting for. She thought of the garden, of the kiss, of the way her heart had pounded against her ribs like a caged bird desperate to be free.
"I do not throw that word around lightly," she said finally, her voice barely above a whisper. Her cheeks flushed pink, the color spreading from her jaw to the tips of her ears. She was grateful that Outer could not see her face, though she suspected the weakling could feel her embarrassment through the bond.
["That is not an answer."] Outer's voice was gentle but insistent. ["Come on, Inner. You can tell me. I promise I will not laugh."]
"You are already laughing. I can feel it."
["I am not. Okay, maybe a little. But only because you are being so stubborn about this. Just say it. It is only me."]
Inner's jaw tightened. Her fingers curled around the Rosario, and she stared at the wall as if it had personally offended her. Her blush deepened, spreading to her neck, and she could feel the heat radiating from her skin.
"I love him," she said, the words escaping in a rush, as if saying them faster would make them hurt less. "There. I said it. Are you happy now? I love that reckless, sarcastic, perpetually annoying idiot who cannot stay out of trouble for five minutes and somehow still manages to make my heart race every time he looks at me."
She took a breath, then added, her voice sharpening, "What? Does she have a problem with it? Are you jealous that I took Tsukune's first kiss? Because I am not sorry. I wanted it, and I took it. That is how I am. If you want something, you reach out and grab it. You do not wait for it to fall into your lap."
There was a pause. Then Outer's voice came through the bond, calm and steady.
["I am not jealous. Well, maybe a little. But not about the kiss. I am jealous that you had the courage to do what I could not. I have been standing at the edge of that cliff for weeks, too scared to jump. And you just… jumped."]
["Just do not get in my way when it is my turn to confess. I want to tell him how I feel, in my own words, in my own time. And I want him to hear it from me, not just through our bond."]
["Can you promise me that, sister? That you will not try to monopolize him? That you will share?"]
Inner was quiet for a moment. The request was not unreasonable. In fact, it was more than fair. Outer had been patient, had watched her take the first kiss without complaint, had even helped her negotiate the schedule. The least Inner could do was return that courtesy.
"Fine," she said, her voice softer now. "I will not stand in your way. When you are ready to confess, I will step back. But do not take forever. He is an idiot, but he is not blind. He will notice if you keep hesitating."
["I know. I will not wait too long. I promise. In fact, soon it will be Tsukune's birthday."]
"Good."
Through the bond, she felt Outer's warmth, a quiet and wordless acceptance. It was not a hug or a touch, but it was the closest they could come.
["Thank you, sister. For not hating me. For protecting me. For being my other half."]
"Do not thank me. Just do not make me regret this."
["I will try."]
Inner set the Rosario on the nightstand. The metal clicked softly against the wood, and for the first time in six years, she lay down without the weight of the cross pressing against her chest. Her silver hair spread across the pillow like moonlight on water.
She stared at the ceiling, at the shadows that danced in the corners of the room, at the pale light that filtered through the window. "One day at a time," she whispered.
Then, softer still, "Thank you, sister."
Inner closed her eyes. For the first time in a very long time, she could sleep in an actual bed instead of just suppressing her consciousness and remaining still inside the Rosario Cross. The mattress was soft beneath her, the blankets warm, and the silence was not the cold, empty silence of the seal but the peaceful silence of a room that was finally hers.
She smiled, just a little, and let herself drift.
---
The morning sun spilled through the curtains of the girls' dormitory, pale gold and gentle. Inner Moka stirred on the bed, her silver hair tangled across the pillow. For a moment, she simply lay there, breathing in the unfamiliar sensation of waking up in a real room instead of surfacing from the darkness of the Rosario.
Through the bond, she felt Outer's warmth, a quiet presence waiting.
["Good morning,"] Outer said softly.
"Mm." Inner's voice was still thick with sleep. "It is strange. Waking up like this."
["Strange good or strange bad?"]
Inner considered the question. The mattress was soft, the blankets warm, and the sunlight did not burn. "Strange good. Do not get used to it. I am not becoming soft."
["Of course not."] Outer's mental voice carried a smile. ["You have class this morning. Friday. It is your day."]
"Right. Class." She swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Tsukune will be insufferable about this."
["Probably. But you like it when he is insufferable."]
"I do not."
["You do. It is okay to admit it."]
Inner did not dignify that with a response. Instead, she sat up, her silver hair falling around her shoulders in a cascade that caught the morning light. She glanced at the nightstand, where the Rosario Cross lay waiting, its crimson gem pulsing faintly as if it, too, was waking.
Her choker was still unclasped, the leather band loose against her throat. She would need to keep the Rosario close before leaving the room, but wearing it around her neck felt wrong now, like putting on a prisoner's collar.
She reached for the choker and fastened it around her neck, and without the cross, just the choker on felt strange, but she left it on anyway because she was used to it, more like an accessory.
Then picked up the Rosario. The cross dangled from her fingers, warm and familiar.
["What are you thinking?"] Outer asked.
Inner hesitated. "The Rosario. If I clamp it, I will be sealed, so I don't want to wear it. But I also cannot leave you here."
["You could put it in your jacket pocket. That would keep it close without wearing it around your neck."]
"The pocket is too shallow. It might fall out."
["Then use my handbag. The small one. It has a zipper."]
Inner considered this. The handbag was not ideal to her. She was not fond of accessories, and carrying a bag felt cumbersome, especially one that belonged to the weakling. It was too girlish, with its soft brown leather and the little gold clasp on the front. She could already imagine Tsukune's teasing grin if he saw her holding it.
But practicality won over pride. The Rosario would be safe inside, protected from falling out or getting lost. More importantly, the connection between them would remain strong. The seal did not require the cross to be pressed against her skin for communication; proximity was enough.
As long as the Rosario was within a few meters, Outer could still speak to her, still feel what she felt. The handbag would keep it close without forcing Inner to wear the Seal around her neck like a prisoner's collar.
"Weakling," she said, her voice carrying a note of reluctant resignation, "the handbag is yours. I will look ridiculous carrying it. It is too girlish."
["You will look fine. Besides, no one will notice. They will be too busy staring at you as usual."]
Inner snorted softly. She could not argue with that logic, though she hated admitting it. "Fine."
She stood, still holding the Rosario, and walked to the dresser where Outer kept her things. The small brown handbag was tucked between two textbooks, its leather worn from use. Inner opened it, placed the Rosario carefully inside, and zipped it shut. She could still feel the cross's presence through the fabric, a faint pulse against her palm.
["Better?"] Outer asked.
"Acceptable."
She slipped the handbag over her shoulder, the strap settling against her hip. Then she turned to the mirror.
The glass reflected her image clearly. Silver hair, pale skin, crimson eyes. A Shinso vampire's reflection, unlike the common vampires of lore who cast no shadow and left no image in mirrors. Her kind had always been different.
She could see herself, and her shadow stretched behind her on the floor, dark and solid. There was something reassuring about that, a reminder that she was real, that she existed outside the seal.
But looking at her own reflection, she felt a strange awkwardness. It had been six years since she had last seen herself like this, dressed in the Academy uniform, standing in a room that was not a prison.
The uniform felt tight in places where Outer's form was slighter. Her chest strained against the fabric, the white blouse pulling taut across her bust, and the buttons looked like they were barely holding on.
One heroic button in particular, the third one down, seemed to be carrying the weight of the world. It stretched thin, the thread around it pulled to its limit, and Inner found herself unconsciously checking to make sure it had not popped open.
Her hips filled out the skirt differently, the hem riding higher on her thighs, and the jacket pulled at her shoulders. She was taller than Outer too, by just a fraction, and the overall effect was that she felt like she was about to burst out of the uniform at any moment.
She tugged at the collar, frowning.
["The uniform is one size too small,"] Outer observed, a hint of apology in her voice. ["I did not think about that. How come my measurements are... different from yours."]
"You think?" Inner's voice was dry, almost exasperated. She glanced down at the straining fabric, then back at her reflection. "I feel like I am about to burst out of this thing. Look at this button. It is holding on for dear life. If I breathe too deeply, someone is going to lose an eye."
The button in question seemed to shimmer under the light, as if aware of the attention. Inner half expected it to snap right then and there.
["You could ask Tsukune to help you get a new one. The student store has extras."]
"Absolutely not. He will never let me hear the end of it."
["He might enjoy the view, though. He's ecchi, afterall."]
Inner's cheeks flushed a deep pink. The heat spread from her jaw to the tips of her ears, and she turned her face away from the mirror, unwilling to let even her own reflection see her embarrassment. "Weakling."
["What?? I am just saying."]
She turned away from the mirror, smoothing the front of her blouse. The fabric was stretched, but it held. She would manage. She had faced worse than an ill-fitting uniform.
["You look beautiful,"] Outer said softly.
"I always look beautiful."
["Modest, too."]
"I am leaving now. Do not distract me during class."
["I would not dream of it."]
Inner Moka walked out the door, silver hair trailing behind her, and the morning began.
The infirmary of Yokai Academy was a place caught between worlds. The walls were lined with shelves of medical texts and glass vials filled with liquids that glowed faintly in the dim light. The beds were clean, the sheets crisp, and the air smelled of antiseptic and something else, something older, like incense burned long ago in a temple that no longer existed.
Gin Morioka lay in the furthest bed, his arm draped over his eyes, his chest rising and falling in slow, shallow breaths. The bandages wrapped around his torso were fresh, changed an hour ago by the nurse.
The wound from All-Black had finally stopped weeping dark fluid after an extensive 'holy' cleansing, but the skin around it was still tender, still marked by the abyssal weapon's corruption. Even for an A-tier werewolf, the cursed wound was healing slowly, far slower than it should have.
However, he was lucky. The school's doctor was not an ordinary physician. This doctor was something else entirely, a woman whose abilities bordered on miraculous. She could put you back together after being torn apart in a fight, and have you walking within days.
Gin had seen it happen to other students. Broken bones mended, organs regenerated, even lost limbs restored.
Even so, the wound from All-Black was stubborn. The dark energy clung to his flesh like a parasite, resisting the holy light that Chisato had channeled into him when she found him unconscious in one of the beds in the Infirmary.
Such details did not pass Gin, who just woke up feeling the wound better. Akin to a dog who had woken up from a traumatizing injury and now felt the pain recede into a dull ache.
He had been awake for hours, staring at the ceiling, replaying the night in his head. The fight. The loss. The moment Tsukune had pressed his foot into his chest and asked if he had ever been anemic.
'A blood servant. Bound to a first-year vampire. And I almost died.'
'Should I try my luck and escape from this blood pact? I have recovered some of my Touki and Yoki… If I concentrate all of my power into my chest, I can fry off that insect. Then I'll be…'
The fantasy lasted only a moment.
A sharp, stabbing pain lanced through his heart, as if something had bitten down on the organ itself. His chest seized, and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead. The insect had heard him, or felt him, or simply knew. It did not matter which. The message was clear.
'No, no, no. I was just joking. Just thinking out loud. Calm down. Please, calm down.'
The pain receded, but the fear lingered. He lay there gasping, his hand pressed against his chest where the creature rested. It was still, watching, waiting. A silent warden over his every thought.
'Should I ask Chisato-sensei to check on this insect? She might be able to remove it. She is a divine healer. If anyone can…'
'I do not want to be a slave. Especially not to that vampire bastard.'
The thought should have filled him with rage. Instead, it left him hollow.
The door to the infirmary opened with a soft click. Gin did not move. He expected the doctor, coming to check his vitals again. She had been diligent, almost too diligent, her green eyes sharp behind her red round glasses, her mole under her left eye giving her a knowing look.
And her body, it was a godly thing on its own. He had noticed, even through the pain. Everyone noticed Chisato-sensei. The tight green turtleneck, the black mini-skirt, the curves that seemed designed to make male patients forget their ailments.
But the footsteps that approached were different, they were light too, and the air started to be filled with the smell of a feline and lots of fish.
"Morioka-kun."
Gin recognized the voice. He lowered his arm from his eyes and turned his head.
Shizuka Nekonome stood beside his bed, her golden eyes soft with concern, her cat ears flattened against her head. She held a small bouquet of flowers, white lilies wrapped in pale green paper.
"Sensei." His voice was hoarse. "You did not have to come."
"I know." She pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down, placing the flowers on the nightstand. "But I wanted to. You are still my student, Gin. No matter what happened."
He stared at the ceiling again, avoiding her gaze. "I am sure you know what I did. Probably Tsukune has told you since you have tried to persuade me to avoid causing trouble with the new club members. He did? Didn't he? Aside from this. The peeping. The photos. Kidnapping Moka. Fighting him. I could have killed someone."
"Only because he was stronger. If I had won..." He trailed off, his hands clenching in the sheets. "I do not know what I would have done. That is the worst part. I do not know."
Shizuka's ears flattened further, and her tail, usually so expressive, went still. Her golden eyes glistened, not with tears, but with something harder, something like regret. Her claws extended just a fraction, scratching the arm of the chair.
"I was not strict enough with you," she said quietly, her voice carrying a tremor she could not quite hide. "I should have intervened sooner. I should have been the teacher you needed. Not just a club advisor who hoped things would work out on their own."
Gin finally looked at her. "Sensei… that is not your fault."
"Maybe not entirely. But I saw the signs, Gin. The way you looked at the girls. The way you withdrew after San graduated. I told myself you were just struggling, that you would grow out of it." She shook her head, her cat ears drooping. "I was wrong. And you paid the price for my inaction."
"Sigh, this could have gotten really tragic for you Gin-kun."
She paused, her tail curling around the leg of the chair, a nervous habit she had never quite shaken. She had learned the full scope of his actions from Tsukune earlier that morning, before coming here.
"That boy had been blunt, almost ruthlessly cold, when he told me that all the problems have been solved with Gin and to not worry since he has not killed him. He said, 'Sensei, your precious club president is alive. Barely. But he is alive. You are welcome.'"
A faint, sad smile touched her lips. "He even scolded me a little. Said I was too soft, that I let things slide because I wanted to believe the best in everyone. And you know what? He was right. I was upset at first, upset at my own inability to be more forceful, to teach you a lesson before it came to this."
Gin's jaw tightened. "You are not the one who should be apologizing, Sensei. I am."
"Then apologize. Properly. Not to me, not to Tsukune. To the people you hurt."
He was silent for a moment. Then, slowly, he nodded.
Shizuka leaned back in her chair, studying him. "Tell me something, Gin. Was it because of San-chan? When she graduated and left the club in your hands, did something break? You admired her. Everyone knew that. But admiration is not the same as..."
"I do not know." His voice cracked. "Maybe. She was the first person who looked at me like I was not a mutt. Like I was just a clumsy, overly enthusiastic kid who took too many pictures. When she left, I felt... adrift. The club was my responsibility, but I did not know how to lead. I only knew how to follow."
He swallowed, his throat bobbing. "So I stopped trying to lead. I started taking what I wanted instead of earning it. The pictures, the attention, the fantasies. It was easier than actually becoming someone worth admiring."
Shizuka did not respond immediately. She studied his face, the dark circles under his eyes, the way his shoulders sagged. He looked smaller than she had ever seen him, diminished in a way that had nothing to do with his wounds.
"I am sorry, Sensei." The words came out rough, scraped raw. "For everything. The pictures, the spying, the way I treated the club. I used it as my personal hunting ground, and I told myself it was art. That I was capturing beauty. But I was just... taking. Taking without permission. Taking because I could."
He listed his sins without excuses, without deflection. The peeping, the harassment, the night he had taken Moka from her room, the way he had hurt Kurumu without a second thought. He did not blame his childhood, his father, or the moon. He blamed himself.
Shizuka listened. Her expression did not change, but her ears remained flat, and her tail had stopped moving.
"That is a start," she said when he finished. "Not an ending. A start where you can become someone you can be proud of."
Gin's eyes glistened. He blinked rapidly, refusing to let the tears fall. His hands trembled against the sheets, and his jaw worked soundlessly for a moment.
"I know," he managed, his voice thick.
She stood, reached out, and patted him gently on the head. Her fingers were warm, and the gesture was so unexpected, so maternal, that Gin felt something crack in his chest. He did not cry. But it was close.
Then she stepped back, smoothing her skirt. "Tsukune will be taking over as club president. The Newspaper Club needs direction, and he has a plan that promises a fresh start, unlike what previous generations could offer. It is ambitious, maybe too ambitious, but he has the drive to see it through."
Gin's eyes widened. "He is taking my position?"
"Temporarily. The Student Council will vote on it next week, but I have already spoken with them. Given the circumstances, they are willing to approve a provisional appointment. If Tsukune proves himself, the role becomes permanent."
"A first-year running the club?" Gin let out a hollow laugh. "They will eat him alive."
"Perhaps. Or perhaps he will surprise you." Shizuka's lips curved into a small, knowing smile. "He has a way of doing that."
Gin was silent for a moment, processing. Then he asked, his voice quieter, "What about me? What happens to me now?"
"Just take a two weeks break from the Club." She met his eyes. "I vouched for you, Gin-kun. I told Tsukune that the Newspaper Club still requires your expertise and your skills. You are a professional with a camera. When you are serious, you can write great articles. You can be an indispensable club member. So please, do not disappoint me again."
A bitter laugh escaped him. "You want me to work under him? After everything?"
"I want you to have something to work toward. Something other than your own obsessions." She held his gaze. "Can you do that?"
Gin was silent for a long moment. Then he nodded, just once.
"I can try. But has Aono-kun agreed to it? He is your new club president, after all."
Shizuka's smile widened, and her tail began to swish again.
"Meow."
"Do not worry, Gin-kun. Your sensei can be convincing when she wants to be. You can take a break from club activities for two weeks. Rest, recover, and think about what kind of person you want to become. When you come back, you will have a place. But you will have to earn it."
"I understand."
Before Shizuka could add further, the infirmary door opened again.
Chisato Hasegawa walked in, her white lab coat swaying with each step. Her black hair was as immaculate as ever, the two ahoges framing her face, her red round glasses catching the fluorescent light. The green knitted turtleneck hugged her generous curves, and the tight black mini-skirt showed off her long legs, crossed with garter motif stockings.
She was, Gin thought despite himself, absolutely impossible to ignore.
"Ah, Nekonome-sensei." Chisato's voice was warm, melodic. "I did not expect to find you here. Visiting our patient?"
"Just checking in." Shizuka smiled, but there was something guarded in her expression. "I was about to leave."
"No need to rush on my account." Chisato moved past her, closer to Gin's bed. Her green eyes swept over his bandaged torso, then lingered on his face. "How are you feeling, Morioka-kun? Has the wound on your side healed?"
Gin swallowed. "Better. The pain is... manageable."
Chisato tilted her head, and the light caught the mole under her left eye. "I was quite surprised when I first saw it, you know. The wound, I mean. It reminded me of something I have not seen in a very long time."
She glanced at Shizuka, then back at Gin. "Whatever hurt you must be quite the handful weapon."
Gin's jaw tightened. "It did a job on me, as you can see."
'So this is the work of that boy, Aono Tsukune,' Chisato thought, her gaze lingering on the bandaged wound. 'The corruption on Morioka's flesh... it reminds me of something from my own world. The power of a Maou. Devouring. All-consuming. I have not felt its like since I fell through that dimensional gap.'
'And the insect inside his chest. A blood construct, that makes usual Blood Magic a joke. That is not simple magic. He is creating life, binding it to his will. I have heard that this world possesses plenty of miracles from Mikogami-san.'
'Ohh my? If it's Aono-kun, I remember that there was quite the clash between the PE teacher and Mikogami-san because one of his 'prospects' for the Rugby Club had been killed by Aono-kun.'
'Usually from my understanding of this place, as long you had a backing and you killed someone nothing will happen apart from a slap on your wrist.'
She had consumed a decent amount of her divine power to cleanse the worst of that abyssal corruption from Gin's wound. The energy had been stubborn, resistant, almost intelligent in the way it clung to his flesh. It had taken hours, and she was still feeling the drain.
But she said nothing of this. She simply smiled her enigmatic smile.
'Aono Tsukune. From what I have gathered, he is a vampire now. But the rumors say he was human once, when he first arrived. Weak, unremarkable, failing his PE classes. And now he wields a sword that leaves wounds like this and creates creatures that bind a werewolf's will.'
'A Longinus, perhaps? Or something else entirely?'
'Now I get it why that shrewd guy, Tenmei Mikogami would go beyond his way to protect Tsukune from those Orcs wanting revenge.'
'What an interesting contradiction. I would like to meet him. Properly.'
"Hmm." Chisato's expression remained unreadable. "Be careful next time. Some weapons leave marks that do not fade easily."
She straightened, turning her attention to Shizuka. Her voice was light, conversational, betraying none of the thoughts running through her mind.
"How are the mid-term preparations going, Nekonome-sensei? I have heard the students are quite anxious."
Shizuka's tail swished. "As well as can be expected. The first-years are nervous, but that is normal."
"That is good to hear." Chisato clasped her hands behind her back. "I have had a few students come to me with stress headaches. Nothing serious. Just the usual pre-exam jitters."
Her gaze drifted toward the window, toward the distant buildings where classes were already beginning.
"Aono Tsukune," she said, almost absently. "He is one of your students, is he not? I have heard his name mentioned. Quite often, actually."
Shizuka's ears twitched. "He is... a complicated case. But a model student nonetheless."
Chisato smiled, a small, enigmatic curve of her lips. "I find complicated people interesting."
She let the words hang in the air, then turned back to Gin.
"Rest well, Morioka-kun. Your body needs time. Do not push yourself."
She walked toward the door, her lab coat swaying. She paused at the threshold, looking back over her shoulder. Her green eyes glittered behind her round glasses.
"Nekonome-sensei. If you see Aono-kun, do tell him that I would like to speak with him sometime. Nothing official. Just... curiosity."
Then she was gone, the door clicking softly behind her.
Shizuka let out a breath. Her ears perked up slightly, though her expression remained thoughtful.
"That woman," she murmured.
Gin stared at the door. "What was that about? Do not tell me that Chisato-sensei has got the jitters for that bastard Aono."
"Forget what you heard Morioka-kun, and better don't try to get involved in this. This is a matter between teachers to solve."
"But…"
"Ohh, and before I forget. Try to not get involved with Hasegawa-sensei, she's not so simple as she seem.
She walked toward the door, then paused, her hand on the frame.
"Rest, Gin. I will check on you again tomorrow. And try to stay out of trouble."